From the end of the 19th century, sound recordings have documented some of the most significant events in culture, science and history.

Custodians of audio collections are faced with the challenge of maintaining access to our priceless audio heritage, but with so many formats, from wax cylinders to the latest audio file formats, there is a risk that recordings on obsolete and fragile formats may be lost.

Understanding and preserving audio collections will guide you through collection management and preservation strategies, with an emphasis on digitisation for preservation and access.

My interest is in video (see Mudcat thread on archiving but I have a project in my back pocket to preserve a 9.5mm cine film. A playlette done by my father who died when I was 9 months old.

I am looking at a guy in NZ who does work for the Tolkien Films (etc) to transcribe. If the cost is not exorbitant then the prospect of 30 minutes of TIFFs at 14 fps - mounts up to er um (thumbs & toes as well) 25000 files.